Metroid Prime: Hunters Review

(Please note this is an old review adapted to our current system)
(The following review was made by a guest reviewer. This means that the N Masters staff has authorized this person's review and/or the person accepted sharing it with us.)

Well peoples, it is time for me to show you how Metroid Prime Hunters is. So here's the story. Samus, the main character, recieves a telemessage saying that a "great" power resides in an unfederated area far in the Alimbic system. So it is your duty as bounty hunter hired by the federation to retrieve such power and secure it for the federation, and if it was not possible to assure, it must be destroyed. The mesage may have been intercepted by other hunters, so there could be more after the great power...

--The Hunters--

Samus:

Samus is a female human in a special suit which allows her to turn into her alt-form, the morphball. She was hired by the federation and works for them since many years.

Kanden:

Kanden is a Bio-Experiment, its origins are unkown, he was meant to be the ultimate soldier and seeks the great power to show he is the best war machine of all. His alt-form is the stinglarva, some kind of worm which throws more worms, which home for a target.

Spire:

Spire is a Diamont, a disappeared species, he seeks the great power to know more about his past. He can resist hot temperatures and molten volcanic rock with ease. His alt-form is the Dialanche, which reminds me of Goron Link in Majora's Mask.

Sylux:

Sylux is an unkown species with a cyber suit which he stole from the federation, he despises the federation and also Samus for helping them. His alt-form is the Lockjaw, a deadly machine which can create a deadly triangle of energy.

Noxus:

He is a Vhozon, which comes from Vho, he is usually a pacifist, but he does not consider no one worthy of the great power but himself, so he is after it too. His alt-form is the Vhoscythe, a deadly giratory weapon with a scythe
to attack.

Trace:

Kriken prince from the kriken empire, Trace's race is feared and despised throughout the galaxy, he strives for a absolute power, and secure such power for the empire. His alt-form is the deadly Triskelion, a bioform which can lunge into the prey with his extremities.

Weavel:

Obviously, anyone faithful to the series knows Weavel, which after an encounter with Samus he got badly injured, and had to replace his body almost completely with cybernetic gear. This space pirate is ready to get the great power for himself. His alt form is the half turret, his body splits into 2, an upper part which jumps and atacks with a sword, and the other half which is a turret that shoots Battlehammer rounds.

--The Weapons--

Power Beam:

The default weapon every hunter gets, rapid fire and charged shot, not so great damage but at least it is consistent, and unlimited.

Missiles:

These explosive rounds can be homing if used by Samus, but they do a very good damage if you can handle them. You can hurt yourself with this weapon!!!

BattleHammer:

Weavel's affinity weapon, this rounds deal solid consistent damage, it has the option of continous shooting.

Shock Coil:

Sylux affinity weapon, when he uses this weapon he can drain energy from the other hunters. The ray thrown by this weapon eventually drains out the opponent's energy. Not very damaging and it is recommended for Sylux users
only.

Magmaul:

The Diamont's affinity weapon, when Spire uses it, it can burn characters up, reminds me of the Pyro job in Half Life Team Fortress. It deals nice solid damage, and it is specially efficient when battling alt forms, since
they draw the hunter back a few steps. Charged up it creates a nice damaging explosion. You can hurt yourself with this weapon!!!

Volt Driver:

The affinity Weapon of Kanden, when he uses it, you can blind hunters for a short time with one of his charged shots. Consistent damage, actually pretty much like power beam, also recommended for Kanden users only.

Judicator:

Noxus's affinity weapon, when he uses this, he can freeze hunters within range. The judicator itself is an ok damage weapon, but the cool thing about the judicator is it bounces off walls, so it is perfect for narrow
passageways since it is almost impossible to miss judicator shots.

Imperialist:

My personal favorite and Trace's affinity weapon. With this, Trace can turn "invisible" if he stays static, perfect for sniping fans. The ray itself is very powerful, but really slow and scandalous. It shoots a long red laser beam which can 1 hit KO if you manage a headshot.

--The Review: Story Mode--

Well, there are 4 planets in which you must seek the 8 Octoliths (or the keys of the great power) in order to open the gate to the great power. Celestial Archives, Alinos, Vesper Defense Outpost, and Arcterra, these are the big 4 in which you must get them. Ok, so, have your scan mode ready, since you need to complete a BIG logbook which if you complete 100% and collect al.l the powerups, you will achieve an Octolith in your wifi Hunter License! There are scans that only appear once in the game like bosses and other special things, so keep an eye for them. The game also develops this -random hunter system- which means that after you have visited and gained at least 1 octolith from every planet you will have random hunter encounters also seeking the great power. The bosses really dissapointed me since they are only 2, and they just change their attacks and way to kill: The Slench and the Cretaphid. The slench is like this big eye, which shoots green blobs at you, you can destroy them to gain universal ammo or health. The Cretaphid is a columnar bioform which depending on the version it either shoots green homing shots or laser beams. The head is protected and you must shoot all the nodes of the cretaphid to open the head, not such an easy task after the third version.

I really did not like the scan system, well, at least the way they managed them, because the 1 opportunity scans make you start over again and again and again. I had to beat the game 4 times to get all 100%. As consecuence, I have memorized every last thing there is to scan. Yay.

The other thing I did not like is how easy are the bosses to beat. The last versions of the bosses are NOT hard, they are tedious. They could've put better bosses and harder in them. Since there is not difficulty setting, the story is always the same.

--The Review: Multiplayer--

The multiplayer option is quite good and competitive. It features, Single Card play, for those who play with the ones who does not have the game. The multiplayer mode, which hooks you up with persons with the game, allows the
selection of hunter and alos the bot practice. And the WIFI battle system, which allows you to play against players around the globe. It gets real competitive in the long run, since you advance in ranks, winning less points for beating the less experienced, although you get juicy bonuses for beating higher or equal rank characters. Although it is an unfair match an Elite Hunter 1 vs 1 against a Bounty Hunter(beginning rank) and yet it is likely for this to happen, Nintendo develpoed a "match my rank" looking system, where you can seek hunters of your skill. I was really dissapointed that the bashes on certain characters started, like Sylux or Trace. And players have once again an excuse to bash this game saying using certain characters or certain technique is cheap. Disconnection will make you loose Rank points, vital for your curren score and are the ones that determine your current skill. Also connection rate can e found in the hunter's license. This is a fine tool to help you see how often the player disconnects, and their other stats, such as rank and battle stats, such as headshots, kills, time online, etc.

In overall, I like the online gaming system, much larger advaned than the Mario Kart DS system, the only thing I miss are the emblems, which I wouldn't know where they could go , since the hunter's license already has the pic of your hunter of choice. The microphone can be used in friend battles and rival battles, a nifty tool to stay in communication, specially when playing in teams.

In conclusion, MPH is a solid game, a must buy for first person shooter fans, a nice option to play if you do not have half life 2.